Ghana hopes to get a deal to lower its debt in the next week so it can get more money from a $3 billion loan program from the International Monetary Fund. Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said this. "Ofori-Atta said that a basic agreement on the restructuring details should be reached next week," during his annual budget speech in Accra. "We think the creditor committee will make a plan with France and China to give an agreement to the IMF. " Ghana's bonds that need to be paid back in 2049 dropped a little bit in value, to 41. 18 cents on the dollar. The IMF and Ghana agreed on a plan last month for the first review of the program that began in May. The lender in Washington has said they will give West Africa $600 million more if the country's lenders agree to specific debt conditions that were promised a few months ago. Ghana is making changes to almost all of its $50 billion debt to make it manageable under the IMF program. The government has finished making changes to its loans within the country. The next move is to improve $13 billion in eurobonds. Discussions are ongoing with people who have eurobonds and the government is looking at ideas from two groups about how to deal with the debt. "He said that in the next few weeks, we will have long discussions with both groups to make sure we reach the goals set by the IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework. " "We think things will get better by the end of the year. " This month, Fitch Ratings said that Ghana's credit score got better because the government finished making changes to its debt. This saved them a lot of money. Ofori-Atta's budget did not include measures that voters might like because there will be an election next year. The finance minister explained how they are going to make the economy grow, reduce prices from going up, and make the budget better next year. They said that these plans are starting to work because of the strict rules from the IMF agreement. He predicted that the economy will grow by at least 2. 8% next year and by 5% in 2027, compared to 2. 3% in 2023 The central bank's plans to control high prices should reduce inflation to 15% by the end of 2024. In October, the percentage was 35. 2% "Ghana is improving and getting back on course," Ofori-Atta said. He said Ghana is committed to keeping the economy stable by being disciplined, kind, and creative. Other things to know about the budget: The economy is expected to make 1 trillion cedis for the first time in 2024. We expect the non-oil economy to grow by at least 2. 1% Next year, it is expected that we will have a surplus of 0. 5% in our budget. In 2024, it is predicted that the amount of foreign currency saved will be enough to pay for at least three months worth of imports. More taxes will be added on plastic packaging, and emissions from factories and vehicles to protect the environment. The government will look at how much money people can earn without paying taxes. The government wants to stop charging taxes on electric buses and other public transportation vehicles for eight years. A 5% flat tax rate will be applied to all commercial properties instead of the current 15% standard rate.

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Source: The Independent Ghana

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